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Ah! Where do I begin reviewing my favorite BL ever? I love Zi Xuan and Yu Hao! I love everything about them!!! Okay, here we go, for real. After a problematic start, HIStory 2 finally finds its footing with this great second part. A typical high school set love story that manages to do everything right and some more.
The way the love between the two main characters is done is so satisfying and well done, without any negative tropes or stereotypes. It's just two boys falling for each other, mixed in with the theme of volleyball. Zach Lu and Fandy Fan are magnetic in their respective roles and they give such a life to their characters that you fall in love with them. Everything about them is sweet and wholehearted. You feel for Yu Hao as he learns of his feelings early on for Zi Xuan and tries his best to deal with them. There's also Zi Xuan, who is reluctant to accept his own feelings for Yi Hao, for his own sake and for his sister's since she also has a crush on Yu Hao. It all comes to a fitting end that sees Zi Xuan accept of his feelings and the two of them promising to continue their relationship despite the long distance.
The side characters are great (I won't be talking about the stepbrothers yet, that's coming up). Zi Xuan's best friend and captain of the volleyball team is a great balance of comedic relief and emotional support as he is always there for Zi Yuan no matter what and accepts his feelings for Yu Hao. The homeroom teacher/volleyball coach is super cool too with whatever little screen time she's given. There's also her sister who helps assist the volleyball team and she's absolutely adorable. It's nice to see a BL with positive female representation which is so rare. Even Zi Yuan's sister, despite her clingy and immature nature, isn't necessarily a bad character either. She just has a crush and even tells her brother to go after Yu Hao since she realizes her crush to be solely circumstantial. There's the other member of the volleyball team and it's implied that he had feelings for Zi Xuan despite it never explicitly being said.
Alright, now onto the stepbrothers. Now to start off, I like them as characters. They're good friends to Yu Hao and very loyal to him. However, as for their relationship... I'm going to say this... I find stepbrother romances in BL to be disgusting and I hate them. Now I know some will say that they're not blood related which is technically correct but they're still family and I just find the whole thing gross for me, in my opinion. I'm honestly tired of the trope in BL and it's one that was explored already in the first HIStory. I wish the trope to go away and be erased forever. If I were to look past the whole stepbrother incest thing, which is problematic in itself, their relationship is kinda dry anyway. I just wish they were best friends in love with each other instead.
Despite this flaw, Boundary Crossing is one of the best - if not the BEST BL out there at the current moment. I know some might disagree and that's okay because everyone is different in how they like things. This drama made me feel so many things, so many emotions. There's very little dramas that actually make me feel that way and this is one of those cases. Zi Xuan and Yu Hao are the prime reason you should watch this show. Their character development and relationship development is incredible and so soft.
I cant wait for the film sequel! Which should be coming out any day now... (and they better not end it like they did Make Our Days Count or so help me...)
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This review may contain spoilers
HIStory 2: Crossing The Line
I really enjoyed this instalment in the history series.The plot itself wasn’t really anything new, bit cheesy at times, but I actually quite liked it. (Kind of gave me Haikyuu vibes a bit but more gay lol)
The cast was very charming, and the characters chemistry and interactions felt very natural.
The secondary characters were really fun too, I enjoyed seeing all the different interactions between them.
Overall I enjoyed this instalment and would like to see more from the two main leads.
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THERE IS A SEQUEL
All of the actors are very good and the storyline is amazing.Crossing the Line has a good distribution of screen time. The main couple gets almost all of the time but the side couple gets just enough to gauge the story of their relationship without taking away from the more dramatic nature of the main.
It is very good and have a nice balance of drama and painful scenes. There is enough sweetness to stop the emotional and dramatic scenes from sending the whole stories into chaotic messes but there is also not too much sweetness which could have made it quite boring.
Also, all of the couples face adversity in one way or another which helps to make them seem more real and draw the viewers in more.
Definitely worth a watch and just to let everyone know, there is a sequel to Crossing the Line which is already out.
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Pros: The actors had good chemistry and did not make their interactions awkward as some BL performers do.
Cons: It was very short and the plot felt rushed and too slow all at once.
A great, quick show to watch something with way less unnecessary drama than most other BL's.
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Another interesting thing is the second pair who is not less good chemistry. In contrast to the main partner who is more in adult love, the second couple is more in love story in high school.
Being really interested in the actor's relationship in this drama, I tried to find videos behind the scene and other variety shows. And wow! they really are like real couple outside of the drama!
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This show was great I loved it. The main characters are so cute together. They're both really really attractive and I just want them to be together and happy. My heart ached with them when they were facing hard times and I was literally crying rivers in the scene with both of them and Zi Xuan's sister. I also ship them in real life and just love seeing them together as they have such a great chemistry!
To the side ship: I must admit even though I normally don't really like those step-siblings ships, I kinda liked this one cause they were cute together and my heart ached for Zen When when he confessed.
Also the OST is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL Song ever. I love it and listened to it already a thousand times.
The acting was good too. It was of cause sometimes a bit over the top, but that's how acting in Asia in general is, so I don't have any complaints.
I'm definitely going to watch this series again if I have so spare time on me, so pls do that too if you have the chance to! ^^
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This review may contain spoilers
Crossing is the perfect Haikyuu for gays. The highlight of the drama is that he explores the sport within the novel, not leaving it as one of the protagonists.I like how to explore the scenarios within the theme of sport / school. The entire romance of couples begins within a block, from the beginning to its completion.
The chemistry between the characters is a main show of this drama. Although the audience of dramas Bl is not so hard to convince that the protagonists are really in love, crossing them really convinced, with cute, dramatic and comedy scenes at the right times, or that it didn't leave a very tiring story.
I liked how to develop the secondary couple, although in theory they don't end up together, or the ending doesn't stay open.
A present drama helps every time to make the scenes even more important, one more moment of direction.
It's not my favorite story from the HIStory series, but it's still an excellent experience.
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I think it's one of the best BL this year (together with "Right Or Wrong") because it's soft but feels real at the same time.
My only issue, at first glance, was the volleyball/sport theme. Once you get the gist of the story, you'll forget about it.
It was like that for me: i started to ignore the part related to sport, even though it was not so bad (I just don't really like sport related series, my bad).
The cast is just amazing. Zach Lu (Zi Xuan) is almost 30 °-° i couldn't believe it. Fandy Fan is just so adorable, his smile is everything.
The two leads are so believable. The kisses are so intense and real... I rewatched episode 4 and 8 so many times just to fully enjoy them.
Tbh, I didn't fully get or like the brothers' storyline: it was a little bit vague and even though it was supposed to be the "difficult" one, i think it just resolved itself without too many issue (which I don't really understand, since they are fr*ckin brothers).
Music: PHENOMENAL. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The opening may sound a bit cheesy, but the overall soundtrack is good (especially during sad moments, the songs are gold).
I would definitely rewatch this (maybe in two or three months), 'cause it's a simple yet cute story, that can make you think and reflect about so many things. And then, again, the kisses are perfection.
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A Queer Rendezvous
Showcasing two couples with a different storyline intersecting yet remaining parallel is a treat to watch. I'm pretty open to all kinds of relationship so two brothers being in love didn't seem awkward to me.On one hand, Hsia Yu Hao's character which is usually a riff-raff turning into lovelorn was exhilarating, Qiu Zi Xuan a self-assured, determined and resilient character shying away from love was gripping on the other. My favourite take away from their love story is the former being a 'Mama's boy' and the latter having 'Sister Complex'. That made them adorable! Hsia Yu Hao's admiration turned obsession turned infatuation with Qiu Zi Xuan is a treat to watch.
Wang Zhen Wen and Wang Zhen Wu had an open-ended denouement. It provokes a thought that the makers of the series weren't sure how the audience will receive this story yet they dared to show it because it's unusual. Well, not everyone can digest an incest love story. It is incest since they are a family no matter how it's formed. But at least I liked how they showed a subtle improvement in the characters' relationship from being brothers to a new start - they are ready to give their newfound love a chance. Not taking it on a full swing but gradually building it by testing waters is a wise approach to this kind of couple and that's what is shown so no complaints.
The newness in both stories is the approach each character takes to propose the idea of love to the other. The characters are cautious about taking their potential partner's mind space in mind. Trying to read every thought yet desperately attempting to restraint their inner raging emotion to confess everything at one go. Each character's confession is in unique but all were impactful.
I have already rewatched it 5 times so you can see, it's worth a shot. I recommend watching the series, it had been my favourite since the time it aired.
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The plot isn't difficult and is easy to follow, though at first you do might want to kick the scenarist, for making it a bit of a suspense to wait for the romance parts. But because it's so easy in the plot development and the seeds of main pair's romantic involvement come on with not too much trouble, and enough for viewer to squirm behind the screen a little, I can pardon the scenarist. Waiting for the next ep is quite suspensful, that's why I can say that the scenarists made the plot pretty well and producers and actors did justice on bringing it on the screen. By the way, I do have to give justice to the actors. Their easy accountanance on the screen with each other made the plot so much more enjoyable. I really like their chemestry. The plot romance was a little underrated, but still, better that, than being sleezy or worse, played by an awkward actors
Usually, honestly liking good BL drama, but really harsh in giving praises, then this got some high points from me.
I would say that History short dramas:
The suspense sequence for me:
History 2
1. HIStory2: Right or Wrong
2. HIStory2: Boundary Crossing
History
1. HIStory: Obsessed
2. HIStory: Stay Away From Me
3. HIStory: My Hero
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This review may contain spoilers
You need the watch this
This show is so great. I don't even know where to begin. The characters are very fun over joyful. You can tell that all the characters love each other or the hated each other. You can feel what their feeling. The main characters love seems so real, and you want the best for the characters. The show could use more funny bits, but besides that this show is great. I wish it had more episodes. At least we are getting a movie. I hope this show gets more then a movie like maybe a 2 season. I can't wait to see what happens with this cothis.Was this review helpful to you?
